Brand New Ales At The Grog

May is a good month for cask ale. A wonderful range of seasonal ales are on offer from our local Highland breweries to add to their usual listings. One of these to be featured this week is White Lady wheat beer from Cairngorm brewery. A classic light bodied session bitter. This copper coloured beer has a delicate malt flavour and a hint of caramel from crystal grains. It is traditionally bittered with Goldings and has a dry slightly spicy finish. It's proving very popular even for a wheat beer.


To add to our great range of ales this week we also have Hebridean Gold from Isle of Skye Brewery. A distinctively different ale, brewed with porridge oats for exceptional smoothness, with a deep and creamy head.

Both ales are selling extremely well so worth popping down to The Grog and Gruel before we sell 'oat' !!

Blaeberry Ale At The Grog

As you know we here at The Grog and Gruel are always trying to find new and exciting beers to tempt our customers. Over the years we have seen many different ingredients added to the brewing process to add interesting flavours. We have seen wheat beer, nut beer, oatmeal beer, seaweed beer and heather beer and these are only in the last couple of years.


As hops were not a traditional Scottish crop we see some great beer recipes coming from old Scots recipes and the Picts. These include heather ale, seaweed and blaeberry ale and many more. If you venture into the Grog this week you will be able to sample two great cask ales from old pictish recipes, Fraoch Heather Ale and Isle of Skye "Cuillingorm" a Blaeberry ale.

I have already tried the Cuillingorm can say it is very drinkable. A smooth tawny ale with a deep fruity flavour. This is a seasonal brew and will only be available for a short time so well worth trying while the blaeberries are in season. As always in The Grog and Gruel we would encourage you to ask for a small sample of the beer as we are sure you will find it hard to resist a full pint to truly taste this great ale.

Probably The Worst Decision in the World

Last week it was announced that in 2011 Carlsberg UK plan to close its iconic Tetley Brewery in Leeds. Independant consumer group Camra are reeling, blaming Carlsberg for failing to promote this epic ale in a time when interest in cask ale is booming.

Although questioned by many locals The Grog and Gruel, and its manager, have always been proud to supply Tetley's on draught and have done so for the past 14 years. Rarely do we pick ales outside our local area, even more rare is picking an ale from south of the border. In order to provide Highlanders with a true 'classic' Bitter it is necessary to take a trip to the ionic waters of Englandshire. We have in the past featured other famous bitters.. Ind Coope Burton, Greene King IPA, Marston Pedigree to name a few.

Though when most breweries merge, increase/decrease business size or change the nature of their business, the main priority is to keep the brewing done in the original site. Carlsberg seem not to see this as important. CAMRA is seeking a meeting with Carlsberg in order to discuss the future of Tetley's cask ales. We will keep you informed.